


uptown girl

by WattStalf



Series: Problematic OTP [32]
Category: Watchmen - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - 1950s, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, I GIVE MY OTP NICE THINGS, Motorcycles, Rating May Change, Tags to be added, except i know nothing about time periods, so dont be surprised if i totally fuck this up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-06-04 13:39:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 18,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6660340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sally Juspeczyk is out of Eddie Blake's league, but that doesn't stop him from pursuing her and he hopes that his new motorcycle might make him seem a little bit cooler.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is seriously the stupidest thing I've ever done, but here we are. I know jack fucking shit about the fifties save for what I see in the movies so if this feels like 2016 with a dash of Grease, I'm sorry. But oh man, an AU where my OTP stands a chance of being happy? I like.

Eddie Blake stared out the window, sighing for what must have been the hundredth time that day. He was sick to death of sitting around at school when he had big plans that afternoon that made the day feel much longer than it actually was. It felt as though the day would never end, and every time he remembered the money in his wallet, his excitement would return and further his impatience as he waited.

He was sixteen years old and he had been saving for a motorcycle since he was fourteen and Hollis Mason had let him come by his father's auto repair shop and he had fallen in love with one that they were considering fixing up during their spare time. The man had said that it would require a lot of work, but if it was still around and fixed up when Eddie was old enough, he could buy it. Though he and Hollis had never been close particularly close and the older boy had already graduated, he still stopped by the garage to see how the repairs were going, and it had been completed six months before. Eddie had only just managed to get the money together, and he was going after school to purchase his motorcycle.

His parents weren't exactly happy, his mother claiming that it was too dangerous and his father claiming that it was tacky, but they didn't care enough to try to stop him, and it was his money. He didn't care at all what they thought, just as long as he had his motorcycle. But the day continued to drag on and on, and when it was finally time to leave, he felt like it had been three days instead of one.

“We wanna see it when you get it,” said Edgar. The similar names had lead to he and Eddie getting mixed up over the years and thy had become friends at some point during that time.

“Yeah,” added Bill. “Want to go to to Richie's after I get done with practice?” Richie's was a diner in town, and Bill was a football player. He was a grade above them, and had been Eddie's friend since childhood when Eddie had had a brief stint as an athlete and Bill had played baseball with him. It was through him that Eddie had met Hollis and a few of his other older friends, and despite Bill being quite popular, he had remained close friends with Eddie and Edgar.

“Sure,” replied Eddie. “I'll meet you guys there, but I gotta go now, so I can buy the damn thing!” He shrugged on his leather jacket, already dressed the part right down to his boots.

~X~

“She's all yours,” said Mr. Mason. Hollis wasn't around to see the momentous occasion, but Eddie doubted that he would have cared anyway. “You know how to ride, right?”

“'Course I do,” he replied. “Might wanna go for a quick right around the neighborhood before I get out on the road, but I been gettin' ready for this since I decided I was gonna buy her.”

“Well, I've got a helmet for you too, free of charge,” the man said. “Figured you might not have thought of it on your own, and I don't want you being unsafe out there.”

Eddie dreaded having to wear something that would ruin his hair like that; despite everything, he was a bit vain and and actually fussed over his hair every morning, though he would never admit to it. But he would look so cool on the bike, riding it everywhere he went, that he figured having his hair a little messed up would be well worth it.

“Thanks for everything, Mr. Mason,” he said, taking the helmet that was offered to him.

“Don't mention it,” replied the man. “It was fun getting to figure out how to fix something like that up in my spare time, and it's nice to know that it's going to someone who'll get good use out of it.”

Eddie got himself ready, hopping onto the bike and securing the helmet, and then he started off down the road, exhilarated and powerful and free to go wherever he wanted. He still had some time to kill before he had to meet Bill and Edgar, so he circled the neighborhood a few times before going out onto the main roads, cruising past so many places that he had frequented, but now it was different because he wasn't walking and he never had to again unless he wanted to. He had never been more happy in his life.

Eventually, he pulled into the parking lot at Richie's, where Edgar was already waiting. His friend was almost as excited to see it as Eddie was to own it, and kept going on about how gorgeous it was. It was a sleek black, and Edgar was right; it _was_ absolutely gorgeous.

“I can't believe you finally bought it,” he said at last.

“Me neither,” said Eddie, “but I did. An' now I've got it and I can ride it wherever the hell I want.”

At that moment, Bill arrived in his car, and when he parked, he got out and admired the motorcycle as well. After he was done looking, the three of them went inside and got a table, and that was when Eddie noticed her, taking an order at another table.

Sally Juspeczyk had been in the same class as Hollis, and she had been known for being one of the most beautiful girls in school. Eddie had had it bad for her, but he had known that she was way out of his league. She was older and wouldn't give a kid like him the time of day, and so he had only admired her from afar. He hadn't seen her since she had graduated, but now here she was, working as a waitress at Richie's. Immediately, he looked at his reflection in a napkin dispenser and tried to straighten his hair as much as possible.

Edgar notice this and looked over to where Eddie had been looking, and he laughed. “Hey Bill,” he said, “isn't that Sally over there? Sally J?” Her last name had always been very hard to pronounce.

Bill looked over and smiled. “Hey, what do you know? I didn't even know she still lived in town!” He was popular enough that they had actually known each other when she had gone to their high school.

Edgar snickered and said, “Well, it looks like Eddie is really happy to see her.” Eddie blushed, dropping his hands.

“Am not!” he protested. “I was just fixin' up. Ya know, after that helmet and all.” He looked down at the table, trying to avoid his gaze drifting towards Sally anymore, trying not to give away the fact that they were right. Of course, it was too obvious for him to conceal, and the other two laughed.

Eventually, Sally made her way over to their table, brightening when she saw Bill. “Bill! How have you been?” she asked. “Is the team doing good this year?”

“Great as always,” he replied with a charming smile that had turned many a girl's knees to jelly in the past. Eddie couldn't tell if it had that sort of effect on Sally or not. “What about you? I didn't know you had a job here.”

“I just got hired last week,” she said. “My parents keep complaining about how I just sit around the house and never do anything for them, so I went out and got a job. I don't think this is what they had in mind for me, but that's tough for them.” She grinned, and Eddie was overcome with the urge to grab her and kiss in front of the whole diner.

Fortunately, he managed to resist, though it took an unbelievable amount of willpower, and he was still thinking about it when Sally suddenly turned her attention to him. “What about you? Didn't you go to school with us?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I'm a grade below Bill. Eddie Blake.” He smirked at her, hoping that he had managed to fix his hair alright.

“And I'm Edgar Jacobi. I'm in the same grade as Eddie,” his friend added. He had a sly grin on his face, and Eddie hoped that he didn't say anything stupid.

But whether he was planning on it or not, he was interrupted by Sally asking what they wanted. All three of them had the same basic order, burgers and fries, and then she was off to put the order in. Eddie couldn't help but stare after her as she walked around the diner, doing her job, and he didn't even care that his friends poked fun at him for doing so. She was still just as gorgeous, and therefore still just as out of his league, as she had always been, and he had a feeling he would be coming back here a lot more often.

 


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the meal, Eddie wasn't sure how to talk to Sally. Every time she came by their table, he tried to think of something to say, but she was always gone before he could think of a single thing. He had never been able to talk to her in school, but that had been due to lack of opportunity. Now that he actually had that opportunity, he found that he was completely at a loss, and already blowing his chance with her, if there even was a chance to begin with. When it came time to leave, he had barely said anything to her, and Bill and Edgar burst out laughing as soon as they were out the door.

“I can't believe this,” said Edgar. “I never thought I'd see the day you looked that thoughtful over anything!”

“I don't know, if anyone could make a guy go crazy like that, it's Sally J,” replied Bill, shaking his head. “But even _I_ knew better than to try to go after somebody like her. Eddie, you're way out of your league here.”

“Shut the hell up,” he snapped. “Ya think I don't already know that? And it doesn't matter, it's not like I'm actually goin' after her or anything.” Still, he could feel his face heating up and hoped that they didn't notice.

“Why doncha stick to someone your own age?” asked Edgar. “You know older women are nothing but trouble. Aren't there any girls around school?”

“S'not like that,” he grumbled. “I really don't care one way or the other, about Sally or anyone else. Got it?”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Bill, rolling his eyes. “Don't worry, we won't tell anyone you've got it bad for Sally J.”

“I do _not_!” he protested, and they cracked up laughing all over again. No matter what he said, he couldn't convince them that there was nothing going on where Sally was concerned, but of course, he knew that there was and he supposed it was so obvious because it was true.

“Do you need a ride home?” Bill asked Edgar.

“Maybe I'll go with Eddie,” he replied. “Give that new bike of his a try.”

“Fuck that,” said Eddie. “You two can ride together, if ya think you're so damn funny.” They were still laughing when he put on his helmet and hopped on, and they were likely still laughing when he started it up and road away, but it was too loud for him to be able to hear.

Eddie didn't really care if they made fun of him, though. Right now, he was too damn happy to know that he'd finally purchased his motorcycle, and the feeling he got from riding it was absolutely euphoric. He imagined Sally sitting behind him, holding on to him as he took her out on a date for the first. She'd be so impressed by it that she wouldn't be able to help going out with him, and the whole evening she'd gush about how great riding with him had been.

By the time he got to his house, he'd reached the point in his fantasy where the night was coming to an end, but instead of taking her home, he'd changed directions so that they could go somewhere to be alone...and he vowed to finish that fantasy out before he went to sleep that night. He parked in front of his house, trying to straighten his hair in one of the mirrors once his helmet was off, but it was a lost cause. Oh well, he was home for the night anyway.

The first thing his mother said when he was through the door was, “So, you really bought that horrible thing?”

“I told ya I'd be gettin' it today,” he grumbled, not that that really mattered. She remembered, and he knew she did, but that didn't change her approval, or lack thereof, one bit.

“Oh, Edward,” she said with a sigh. “I just don't like the idea of it one bit! You know how unsafe it is, and I really wish you'd have taken that into consideration before you wasted your money on that.”

He didn't bother responding, knowing that it hadn't been a waste. All the oddjobs he'd done in the neighborhood, the summers spent mowing lawns and fixing fences and whatever the hell else he could find to do, had all been worth it, and not a penny of the money he'd spent on his motorcycle felt like a waste. It wasn't his fault that his parents never got it, that they were just too damn boring to understand anything he liked or wanted.

“Let him be, Mary,” his father said. “If the boy wants to be an idiot, s'nothing we can do to stop him. He can ride around and look tacky if that's what he wants, never mind how it reflects on _us_.”

Again, Eddie didn't bother responding. He'd lived with them long enough to know which battles to pick, and this wasn't one of them, so he went up to his room without further comment. They wouldn't be eating dinner together, because, as much as they tried to maintain their image to the outside world, his parents could stand to sit at a dinner table with him any more than he could with them. That was part of the reason he ate with Bill and Edgar, though they were always able to eat dinner with their families after, and Eddie was sure he'd been hungry enough later for another meal and would see what the had to eat.

He was in too good of a mood to care about his parents' remarks. It had been one of the best days in a long time, and not just because it was the day he finally got his motorcycle. Seeing Sally again had had more of an effect on him than he'd realized, and just thinking about it now filled him with an excitement, though he had no idea what he was excited for.

He didn't know what how he'd manage to win her over, or even how he'd begin to try, but he knew that that was exactly what he was going to do. She was drop dead gorgeous and the woman of his dreams, and no matter what it took, he was going to have her. No matter what Edgar or Bill seemed to think about the situation, and no matter how out of his league she was. He was a different guy than he had been when she had gone to school with him, and he had his own motorcycle to prove it!

~X~

Riding to school the next day, Eddie felt every inch as cool as he expected to, and his friends waited for him in the parking lot, both still quite impressed by his bike. A few other students stared, he couldn't help but notice, and he waited until the excitement had died down to take off his helmet and fix his hair in the mirror. As always, Bill and Edgar got a kick out of this, but he didn't care.

That is, until Edgar said, “No need to fuss so much! Sally J doesn't go here anymore, remember?”

“It's not about that,” he snapped, but once again, he was blushing and they continued to tease him even as they walked into school together.

Finally, Bill said, “You know, I don't have practice today. How about we go and see your favorite girl again?”

“She's not...” Eddie trailed off; on the one hand, he wanted to play it cool, but on the other hand, he really did want to go to the diner after school. Finally, he groaned and said, “Yeah, okay. But this has nothing to do with her. I just wanna get somethin' to eat before I go home.” He wasn't surprised that they didn't believe him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Eddie as a normal teenager is a lot more fun than I expected, sheeeit.


	3. Chapter 3

And so the three of them went to the diner again after school, though Eddie wasn't so keen on having them with him when he got to see Sally again. Even though he knew it really didn't matter, and that she probably wouldn't give him the time of day if he were there alone, he still liked to fantasize about showing up by himself and Sally being the one to wait on him until she decided that he looked too lonely and she joined him for dinner instead.

In fact, he was pretty lost in that fantasy during his last class, and was jolted out of it when it was time to leave. She had been all that he could think about that day, a sharp contrast to the day before, when it was only his motorcycle on his mind, but thinking of that made him combine his fantasies, and as he walked out to the parking lot, he was in a daze, envisioning Sally's arms wrapped around him as they road together.

“Can I please ride with you this time?” asked Edgar, and Eddie snapped out of it, realizing that he and Bill had walked up beside him.

“No way,” he said. “Ya don't got a helmet, and I don't wanna have to worry about keepin' your sorry ass safe.”

“It's alright,” said Bill with a chuckle. “There's plenty of room in my car.” Edgar whined something that Eddie ignored as he headed off for his bike. Once he was riding, he once again couldn't get the image of having Sally sitting behind him out of his head, and he was glad that he hadn't brought Edgar along. Having _him_ be the one back there instead would have just been too weird.

Pulling into the parking lot, he was pleased to see that he had beaten the other two there, and quickly pulled off his helmet and tried to fix his hair in one of his mirrors. When he was satisfied, he stood back, leaning against his motorcycle and trying to look a lot cooler than he actually was, and when Bill pulled into a parking spot, Eddie could see that the two of them were laughing at him. Glowering, he straightened up and the two of them got out of the car to walk in with him.

For a brief second, he was afraid that she wouldn't be working and that he wouldn't even get to see her, but then he was in the door, and there was Sally, just as she had been the day before. Despite all the time he had spent fussing over his appearance, he was overcome with the urge to check his reflection and make sure that he still looked okay, but fortunately, he managed to resist.

Eddie thanked whatever lucky stars he might have when she was their waitress again, and she flashed that dazzling smile of hers as she came over to take their order. “Long time, no see,” she teased. “What brings you boys back here?”

“Oh, ya know,” started Eddie, but then he realized that _he_ didn't know, and he had no idea what he was trying to say. He shrugged weakly as he trailed off, cheeks burning in embarrassment.

But Sally didn't seem to notice that and instead said, “You're Eddie, right? Sorry, I know Bill, but you two have such similar names, I don't want to get you mixed up.”

He had to fight off a stupid grin, knowing that the fact that she remembered his name didn't mean much but also unable to help being ecstatic about it. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, that's me.”

“And that would make you Edgar,” she said, nodding to herself.

“It's alright if you don't remember me,” he said, and Eddie could tell by his grin that he was about to say something that he wouldn't like. “It's Eddie who's the real special one.”

“Oh, yeah?” she asked, raising a brow and smirking. “And why is that?”

“Cut it out,” Eddie grumbled under his breath, but his friends just grinned at him and pretended not to hear him.

“Yeah, he's super interesting,” said Bill, unable to keep from snickering as he did so. “Everyone says he's the funniest guy they know, and he really knows how to have a good time.”

“Definitely, definitely,” Edgar said. “Coolest guy I've ever met. I mean, the guy even has a _motorcycle_ , how cool is that?” He burst out laughing at his own antics, but Sally actually seemed a little intrigued by the last point.

“Do you really?” she asked.

“Yeah, I do,” replied Eddie, trying out his smoothest smirk on her. “It's out in the parking lot right now.”

“Wow, that is really cool,” she said. “I'd like to see it some time, if you don't mind. I've never ridden on one before.”

At that, Eddie actually felt his heart skip a beat. If he wasn't mistaken, Sally was actually trying to invite herself for a ride on his motorcycle, which may have been small, but it was a way in, and gave him a little bit more to work with. “Well, ya know, I could give you a ride sometime,” he said, making it sound like his idea, even though it was pretty obvious that that was what she was getting at.

His friends, thankfully, stopped trying to tease him and stopped jokingly talking him up, but as soon as she actually took their orders and walked away, they both burst out laughing. “I could give you a ride sometime,” said Edgar, in a theatrically suave tone, and Bill struggled to catch his breath.

“Oh, of course I'll give you a ride, Sally,” he said, once he had managed. “Of course, I'm just that cool, it comes naturally to me!”

“Oh, hardy har har,” muttered Eddie, looking away to hide the fact that he was fighting off a grin. It was hard not to be pleased when he _was_ actually making some headway with her, even if his friends were being incessant in their teasing. By the time the meal was over, he was glad to be able to get away from it, no matter how good of a mood he was in.

His entire ride home was filled with the same fantasy of Sally clinging to him while they rode together, but this time, it seemed just a little bit more real because he knew it was attainable. He didn't think there was anything that could make him happier in that moment other than actually having Sally there with him, and now that he knew that was going to happen soon, it was all he could do not to let out some sort of shout of triumph as he made his way home.

It was funny to him, because he had only really met her yesterday. He'd known of her in school, and had always thought about how great it would be to have a girl like her, but he hadn't spoken to her before. Now, out of nowhere, he felt like he actually had a chance with the unattainable Sally Juspeczyk, and it was one of the best feelings he could imagine. It felt like everything was really coming together for him, and he couldn't wait to get to know her better.

Even the griping he faced as soon as he walked in the door wasn't enough to faze him, and he ignored his parents complaints about his motorcycle and how they didn't approve for their two different reasons as he walked upstairs. Absolutely nothing could faze him then, and even the next day at school, he was nothing but excited. He didn't tell Bill or Edgar about it, but he had some big plans for when he got out that afternoon.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this story is so fucking shameless

Eddie's secret plans were, naturally, to go to the diner by himself so that he could talk to Sally without Bill or Edgar getting in the way. And, if he were lucky, she would want to go with him when she got off work, so that he could give her that ride he had promised, and then things might take off from there. He was ready to make his big move, spending his entire day at school impatient- which really seemed to be becoming a bit of a pattern in his life.

“Doing anything after school?” asked Edgar.

“My folks want me home,” he lied easily.

“Damn. Bill's got practice, now you're too busy,” his friend groaned, and said something about how now he'd actually have nothing to distract him from doing his homework for once. Eddie would have felt worse for lying if it weren't for the fact that his friends had made it impossible for him to talk to Sally without them trying to get in the way of it, and this was his chance to actually spend some time with her.

He wasted no time in heading over there once school was out and he had said goodbye to his friends. As he rode, it occurred to him that he didn't have a helmet for Sally, and he decided that he would have to go without when she rode with him, at least until he could get one for her. He desperately hoped that he would have the chance to get one for her, because that would mean that she wanted to go with him again.

When Eddie pulled into the parking lot, he briefly felt nervous, but reminded himself that he had to play this cool. She didn't really know him, which meant he had to paint himself in a way that would be appealing to her. Like always, he made sure to straighten his hair before he went in, walking up to her without bothering with being seated. She wasn't busy, so he didn't see the problem is going straight to her.

“Eddie?” She looked confused to see him.

“Hey,” he said with a grin, hoping she couldn't tell the way his heart skipped a beat when she so much as looked at him.

“Hi. Can I...help you with anything?”

“Oh! Oh, well, uh...” He paused. “Ya know, I just...yesterday you said you wanted to...I wanted to see when you wanted me to give ya that ride on my motorcycle is all. We didn't really talk about a time or anything yesterday, an' all.”

For a moment, Sally still looked confused, and he realized that there was a chance that she had not been completely serious or that she had forgotten, that it really hadn't meant that much coming from her. But then she grinned and said, “Well, it's awfully sweet of you to come all the way over here just for that. I've still got work for a few more hours, but if you want to swing by around eight, I'd appreciate a ride home.”

Eddie had to fight off an idiotic grin as he said, “Yeah. Yeah, sure, I can do that. I'll, uh, I'll be back then.” He considered getting something to eat while he was there, but he was suddenly, stupidly nervous and he didn't want to look pushy or for her to think that he didn't have anything better to do than wait around for her. Even if he didn't, he didn't need her knowing that and so he decided it might be best for him to go home in the meantime.

He ended up eating dinner at home, both of his parents surprised to see him home so early. “I got somewhere to be tonight,” he explained.

“Not too late, I hope,” his mother said.

“If your out causin' some kind of trouble, I better not hear about any of it,” added his father. Eddie managed to hold back any snide remarks that came to his mind in response, and managed to keep his temper in check until he was up in his bedroom, and even then, reminding himself that he would soon be giving Sally a ride home from work was enough to put him back in a good mood.

Time passed just as slowly as it did when he was stuck in school, maybe even slower despite the fact that he had to wait less time, and he stared at the clock, waiting for seven-thirty to roll around so that he could leave. When it finally did, he realized, a little too late, that he could have spent his free time buying a second helmet so that he wouldn't have to go without on the ride.

_Oh well_ , he thought,  _at least my hair won't get messed up._ Or, rather, it wouldn't be messed up n the way to her house, but when he made it back to the diner parking lot, he was quick to take off his helmet and straighten up before going inside. She was still working, so he let someone else seat him while he ordered a soda, sipping at it until Sally came over to him and sat across from him in the booth.

“Hey,” he said, “you want anything before we head out?”

She shook her head, saying, “Nah, I had something on my break. I'm ready to go as soon as you are.” Eddie sucked down the rest of his drink and paid before standing up and offering his hand.

“Ready?” he asked, and Sally nodded as she took his hand. He tried not to it show how much this absolutely thrilled him as he helped her up, but all he could think about was that he was touching her, that he was touching _her hand_ , and that she was giving him that smile of hers while she thanked him for his help.

When they were in the parking lot, he gestured and said, “Here it is.”

Sally grinned and said, “Well, it's certainly as cool as they said it was. I don't live too far from here, I usually walk to work.” She gave him directions so that she wouldn't have to try and shout too much while they were riding, and then he handed her the helmet.

“I only got one right now,” he said. “So, for now, I'm just gonna have to go without.”

“Aw, but what if it misses up my hair?” she whined, then brightened. “Then again, never seems to do that to you.” He couldn't help but feel a little bit proud about that, even if he did go to great lengths to fix things every time he took his helmet off.

Eddie helped her into it before climbing on and pulling her up behind him, shivering a bit when he felt her lean into his back and hold onto him. This really was like something directly out of a dream, and as he started off the way she had directed him, he couldn't help but hope that things could only go up from here. He hadn't been used to things going his way, but for the past few days, it had begun to seem like his luck was really changing.

It was such a short ride that it felt like it was over in a heartbeat, but it was nice, and he wished that he had made a wrong turn or gotten them a little lost so that he could have made it last longer. But he realized that a little too late, and she pointed to her house as he slowed down in front of it, stopping so that he could help her off. Sally removed the helmet and handed it back to him, and then leaned into the mirror, sighing.

“Looks like I did get a little messed up,” she said, patting her curls. “Oh well, at least I'm home for the night. Thank you so much for the ride, it was a lot of fun.” She grinned at him and he returned the smile.

“Any time,” he said. “In fact, maybe we could...I mean, that was pretty short. Maybe I could take you for a longer ride next time, if you're up for it.”

“Definitely,” she replied. “I'd love to do something like that again sometime. How about Saturday morning, before I go to work?”

“Yeah,” he said, “yeah, that sounds great.” She told him what time to pick her up from her house, and he promised her that he would have a second helmet by then before heading home. He couldn't wait until Saturday, when he would get to feel her arms wrapped around him again, and that was all that was on his mind when he was back in his bedroom.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Eddie didn't tell his parents that he had a date, mostly because he didn't want to hear whatever they would have to say about it, but also because he wasn't sure if it was a date or not. After all, he was just taking her for a ride around town, and it wasn't like he had asked her to go steady or anything like that. He hoped that that was right around the corner, but he knew better than to get his hopes up like that so early on, when he had only begun his pursuit of her earlier that week.

Before the big day, he had purchased a second helmet, and when Saturday rolled around, he was actually out of bed before noon for once, not wanting to be late. Whether it was a date or not, he didn't want to make the wrong impression, and he'd heard that girls liked punctuality. He was at least sure that a girl like Sally would appreciate not being made to wait, and so he even arrived to her house a few minutes early, just to make sure that he was there at the exact moment he needed to be.

She came outside before he rang the doorbell, and he figured it was just as well. He was not mentally prepared to meet her parents just yet. Sally beamed at him as she crossed her yard, waving and saying, “You sure are early!”

Eddie blushed, wondering if he had been wrong and if she would have thought he was cooler if he had been fashionably late. But he couldn't do anything to change that now, and just shrugged and said, “Well, I get around town pretty fast.” He held out the new helmet to her, adding, “See, just like I promised. Now we're both safe.” He snorted at his own words.

Sally wrinkled her nose but took it from him. “I hate 'em just as much as you do, but it's nice that you at least think about safety. Not a lot of guys do. Too concerned with looking cool and, to be honest, I probably would have been if you didn't insist so much.” He knew that it was a compliment, but he still wanted to protest that he cared plenty about looking cool. Still, he held his tongue and smiled at her.

“Ready to get goin'?” he asked. “Got anywhere in mind?”

“Everywhere we can manage before I have to go into work,” she replied, putting her helmet on. Eddie got onto the bike and helped her up behind him, and the feeling of her arms around him as she leaned into his back was no less wonderful than it had been the first time. He was in so deep with her, and he did not care at all.

When it came to coming up with places to take her, he was at a loss. He wasn't sure if she wanted to actually go anywhere, to stop and do anything, or if she just wanted to cruise around, but he figured if she wanted to do anything, she would probably let him know. So he started off with her, taking her through her neighborhood, going the long way before getting out onto a main road, and then he chose different neighborhoods to cruise through, avoiding his own at all costs. He didn't need to hear his parents complain about the noise he had made when he got home that night, and he didn't want to risk one of them stepping outside and seeing him with a girl.

Sally pulled herself up a little closer to him, and he swore he had died and gone to heaven at some point during the night. It took a lot of self-control to keep his focus on the road and to not cause them to crash and die, but he managed, and the rest of the afternoon was great. He knew, in the back of his mind, that they weren't talking, that ethey weren't really interacting at all, but he couldn't bring himself to care when he _was_ still alone with her. Even if he had no idea what she was thinking or if she was having a good time or if she even wanted to be out here with him, the fact that it was Sally on the back of his motorcycle was more than enough for him right then. There would be time to figure out the rest of the details later.

Too soon, however, they were nearing the center of town, which meant that they were nearing the diner, and if he had the chance to check his watch, he knew that it would be close to time for him to drop her off. Their little outing had not lasted nearly long enough for him, and he vowed to ask her on a real date before she went into work.

Coming to a stop in the parking lot, he helped her off the bike and said, “So, did you enjoy yourself?”

Sally had a wide grin as she pulled off her helmet and replied, “Oh, yes! Thanks again for that, it was a lot of fun. Sorry we had to cut things short, but...” She gestured at the diner and made a face.

“Well,” started Eddie, “maybe we could-”

“Sally? Sally Juspeczyk!” cried a male voice, and she turned around to look at where it came from, while Eddie craned his neck around her. A blonde man in a crisp uniform was coming out of the diner and waving at her, and her face lit up when she saw him.

“Nelly!” she cried, running up to hug him. Like an idiot, Eddie followed her while the two of them embraced and then grinned at one another.

“Your parents told me you'd probably be here,” said the young man. “I almost didn't believe them about you having a job.”

Sally swatted his arm playfully. “Oh, hush!” She seemed to realize then that Eddie was still standing there, and turned to him. “Eddie, this is Nelson Gardner. He's an old friend of mine. Nelly, this is Eddie Blake. He was giving me a ride to work.”

Nelson extended a hand that Eddie shook, forcing a smile. “Nice to meet you,” said Nelson. He was infuriatingly handsome.

“A pleasure,” replied Eddie, and he suddenly felt incredibly out of place. Two minutes ago, he had been about to ask Sally on a date, and now this asshole had shown up out of nowhere, and Sally was beaming at him in a way that made Eddie want to clock him right there in the parking lot.

But then she said, “I really need to get into work, boys. Nelly, are you here to eat something?”

“I'd thought about it,” he replied.

“Then come on in! Eddie?” He felt like she'd said his name as an afterthought.

“Nah,” he mumbled, “I gotta get back home.” He said his goodbyes and got back on his motorcycle, trying not to watch as they walked into the diner together. His ride home was spent thinking about this Nelson Gardner, and what exactly Sally had meant when she called him an “old friend”.

By the time he'd made it home, he was pretty sure that there was no other way to interpret it. Whoever this Nelson was, he had to be Sally's boyfriend. She looked so happy to see him, and he had that clean cut look to him that parents loved. And apparently Sally did too, if they were really going steady, and Eddie had no hope of competing with somebody like that. If Sally and Nelson were together, then he had no chance of winning her over, and he had been kidding himself all along. He had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do from here.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Really, Eddie could not believe that after all the progress he had made with Sally over such a short amount of time, that it had all counted for nothing. All the time they had spent together, everything he'd thought was growing between them, had been nothing, and she had just been having fun. He had never even had a chance with her, and all because she had already been seeing this Nelson guy!

The problem was, Nelson was as different from Eddie as day from night, and even if they broke up or if they hadn't been together in the first place, he had to be Sally's type for her to go steady with him. If _that_ was Sally's type, then there was no way that Eddie was, and no way that she would ever look at him that way. She wasn't just out of his league, she was out of his reach entirely!

By the time Monday rolled around, he had done so much thinking about this that it had really brought him down, and his mood was far from the ecstatic one it had been the week before. He didn't really feel like there was much of anything to be excited about, and it wasn't long before his friends figured out that something was bugging him. At lunch, they pestered him about it until he caved.

“On Saturday, I kinda...well, I thought I went on a date with Sally,” he said.

“What?” Edgar looked surprised. “Seriously?”

“Congratulations,” said Bill, with a genuine smile.

“Hey, hey, I said I _thought_ I did,” Eddie grumbled. “But, the thing is, when I dropped her off at work, there was this guy there. Some Nelson guy, and she was hugging all over him and calling him an 'old friend'. Obviously they're goin' steady, so I guess I was just kidding myself the whole time.”

“Are you sure about that?” asked Bill. “I mean, did she say that they're together?”

“I didn't exactly stick around to ask,” he snapped. “I can tell when I'm not wanted.”

“Well, if she didn't say anything for sure, then you don't know for sure. Would she really go out with you on Saturday if she had a boyfriend?”

“It was just a ride on my bike,” he muttered. “It probably didn't mean anything to her.”

“But maybe it did. Like I said, she didn't say anything for sure. I don't think you should count her out just yet,” said Bill. “How about we go by the diner after school and see if she's working? You might get a chance to talk to her then, and see if she still seems interested in you.”

“Yeah,” Edgar said. “You don't want to give up if you still have a chance, right? At least find out before you decide it's over with.”

Eddie couldn't deny that they had a point, and he did want to find out for sure what was going on. On top of that, he still wanted to see her, and so, going to the diner sounded like a great idea to him. He didn't have anything to lose, at the very least, and so he nodded and said, “Alright, whatever, you guys win.”

~X~

He was more nervous than he should have been, but even though he kept telling himself that it didn't matter, that he had nothing to be nervous about, he couldn't help himself. If he asked Sally about her and Nelson and she confirmed his suspicions, then it really would be completely hopeless. For the first time in a while, school didn't seem to move all that slowly, perhaps because he was dreading the potential outcome for that afternoon.

Bill and Edgar did not share his same sense of dread, and really didn't seem to realize how serious this all was. They went through the ritual of Eddie refusing to get Edgar a ride, until he once again was made to get in Bill's car, and then they rode over, and Eddie didn't even care when they laughed at him while he fixed his hair in the mirror. For a moment, he hoped that she wouldn't be working, but when they walked inside, there she was, just like always.

Once they were seated, she saw them, and before Eddie could stop him, Bill waved her over to their table. She was grinning at him, and they began to make conversation so easily that Eddie was jealous. If Nelson was her type, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine that Bill was, but he stopped that line of thinking quickly. It was one thing to worry about something that actually gave him cause for concern, but there was no need for him to be paranoid about Bill on top of that.

“You know,” said Bill, “there's a football game this weekend.”

“Is there?” asked Sally. “That's one of the things I miss the most. I always loved going to those, and it's be nice to see how much better you've gotten.”

“Well, then, you should come this weekend!” he said. “Then you can watch me play. How does that sound?”

“That'd be a lot of fun,” she replied.

“Eddie can pick you up,” he went on. “I'd offer, but I have to be there early, and Edgar doesn't even have a car.”

“I'll just meet you two there,” added Edgar.

“Are you sure it's not too much trouble?” she asked Eddie, the first thing she had said to him the entire afternoon.

“'Course not,” he said, biting back the question that he had come here to ask. Now didn't seem like the time for that sort of confirmation. “Game starts at seven, I can come by your house at six-thirty. Does that sound alright?”

“I'll be ready,” she replied with a smile, “but I really gotta get back to work before someone notices and get me in trouble. See you Friday!” And with that, she was gone, and another waitress came over to take their order.

“See you _Friday_ ,” said Edgar with a snicker, and Eddie resisted the urge to deck him, his mood already beginning to lift.

“See? She wants to go with you,” said Bill.

“Only because you invited her,” he replied. He was trying not to get his hopes up, even though he was already beginning to feel so much better about everything. “I mean, just cos she's going doesn't mean anything. Maybe _Nelly_ is busy that night or somethin'.”

“Or maybe he really is just an old friend,” argued Bill. “Either way, you're just going to have to wait and find out.”

Eddie nodded because, as much as he hated to admit it, Bill was right. He would have to wait the rest of the week to get answers, and he would have to fight his own hopes in the meantime. It was going to be a struggle not to get too excited and not to assume that _this_ would be a date, but he was going to get to see Sally either way, and it would be impossible not to get excited over that.

 


	7. Chapter 7

It was one of the longest weeks of Eddie's life, but Friday night was upon him eventually, and he went to Sally's house at six-thirty, just as they had agreed to, bringing along the extra helmet. He was glad that it would at least see a second use, but he had really hoped that it would see even more use than that, and that she would be his passenger many, many times. But he was getting ahead of himself, and would have to get through this evening before he could worry himself about their future, if they even had one.

As he parked in front of her house and waited, however, he saw someone come out that was most definitely not Sally, and was, in fact, the last person he wanted to see coming out of her house. Nelson Gardner, unmistakable in that damn uniform of his, walked out with Sally, the two of them laughing about something while her parents hung in the doorway. They looked at the couple- Eddie couldn't help but think of them as such- with such pride that it only made things worse, and if he could have gotten away without anyone noticing him, he would have.

But Sally looked up and waved at him, calling out to him, and he waved back with a grin. Nelson, annoyingly enough, also waved at him, but Eddie pretended not to notice that, keeping his eyes on Sally as her parents walked up to her. Her father pointed at him and said something that he couldn't hear, and her mother looked confused, and a little bit concerned.

Sally just waved them off, however, and ran over to Eddie with a wide grin. “Got my helmet?” she asked. “I told them we were in a hurry, so let's get over here before they decide they want to talk to you or something.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” he said, handing her the helmet and helping her up. Once her arms were around his waist, he didn't waste any time starting off down her street, and he could hear her laughing behind him, as if the two of them had gotten away with something. He couldn't help laughing himself, but then he remembered the fact that Nelson had been there, and he didn't feel much like laughing anymore.

Her parents looked like they absolutely loved Nelson, whereas he was sure they wouldn't like him at all. He and Sally were completely different, he realized, and maybe it wouldn't work out between them even if he did have the chance. Maybe he was wasting his time with her completely, but he just couldn't let the idea of being with her go, and he still wanted to try for it, or at least figure out if there was anything to try for at all. Tonight, he would have to find out what was going on between her and Nelson, and what she thought about him.

They made it to the school and parked, going to where Edgar was supposed to meet them. He wasn't there yet, so Eddie went to buy their tickets for the game, unable to resist paying for Sally's, who seemed pleased, at the very least. Then they went back to wait for Edgar, but after a while, it became very apparent that he was not there. If they didn't get into the game, they would be late, so Eddie said, “I guess he'll just have to find us if he ever gets here.”

Sally nodded, and the two went in to find somewhere to sit. She got stopped by several people who remembered her, all wanting to say hello, but she didn't waste much time on small talk, always saying that she and Eddie needed to get moving. When they were seated, she said, “Sorry about that. I just don't remember half of those people, and I didn't want _them_ figuring that out.” She laughed, and he laughed along with her, finding himself relaxing.

It was getting easier and easier to relax with her, but he couldn't let himself get too comfortable until he knew what their relationship even was. The game began and, for a while, they watched the players going back and forth, but then she started talking with him again, and of course, he thought conversing with her was way more interesting than any football game. And, as they talked, he slowly built his nerve, until he finally found a way to transition the conversation to what he wanted to talk about.

“So, how about that Nelson guy?” he asked. “You two seem, uh, pretty close. He's not jealous of you comin' out here, is he?”

She giggled. “And what makes you ask that?”

Blushing, he went on, “Well, I thought you guys were, ya know...goin' steady?”

Sally laughed harder at that, waving her hand and shaking her head. He was suddenly very embarrassed to have asked that question, but a fresh hope began to grow in him, so he couldn't say he regretted it. “Who, Nelly? No, no way! Like I said, he really is just an old friend of mine. You've got nothing to worry about where he's concerned, believe me.” She winked, and he could feel his blush deepening, grateful that it was dark enough outside that she would not be able to tell.

“Oh,” he said, not sure what else to say to that. “Well...I was just wondering.”

“Of course, my _parents_ sure would love it if we were,” she said with a sigh. “I cannot stand how uptight they are about everything! They just want to groom me to be the perfect, dutiful housewife, and they can't see that I'm destined for something so much greater than that!”

“Yeah?” he asked, genuinely interested. “What's that?”

“I'm going to be a movie star, of course!” she said, flashing a smile that he could most certainly imagine on the silver screen. “But they don't think I can do it, and they keep insisting I need to be more 'responsible', as if sitting at home and vacuuming the living room is going to do me any good.”

“You really wanna be a movie star?” Now he was even more interested, and he had to admit that she seemed like the type of woman who belonged on the silver screen. “Wow, that's really cool!”

“You think so?” she said, feigning modesty before laughing. After a moment, she sighed and said, “I just hope I can get out of here someday. I hope I do make it.”

~X~

When the game was over, Sally took some time to talk to Bill and was stopped by a few more people, but she never let Eddie out of her sight. Edgar never showed up at all, but they had nearly forgotten that he was supposed to in the first place, and when it was time for him to take her home again, he was very glad that they had had the night to themselves.

Standing in front of her house, he said, “I had a good time tonight, hope you did too. And, uh...I think you're gonna be a great movie star one day. I'm sure you'll make it.”

A smile broke out over Sally's face and she said, “Thank you so much, Eddie. I had a great time tonight.” She leaned in to give him a quick kiss before she went inside.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Eddie wasn't really sure when he fell asleep that night or how he managed- though he was sure he had to have been exhausted after all the quality alone time he had once he was home with his memories of Sally. He had been so excited when he got home that sleep had seemed impossible, and none of it had even seemed remotely real. In one night, he had not only had all his fears put to rest, but had actually had something happen that confirmed, once and for all, that he was not alone in this.

She had _kissed_ him, for Christ's sake! There weren't that many ways to read into that, and she had to know that he was interested by now, and how he would take it if she did something like that. She had to mean it the way he thought she meant it, which meant that he had a lot more than just a chance with her, and he was so damn ecstatic that as soon as he woke up, he felt like laughing. He only barely managed to keep calm, not wanting to do anything too attention-grabbing, lest he face a questioning from his parents.

The last thing he wanted was to talk to them about this, especially when he didn't even know what he and Sally were yet. Were they going steady now? Was that what that kiss meant? But when he thought about it, he realized that, if they were going to go steady, he was going to have to be the one to ask that, and he had been to stunned to do so the night before, just letting her walk inside without another word. He needed to know what was going on, officially, and he had to go see her as soon as possible to ask.

She had mentioned something about working today, and even though he was sure that, by now, it was a little weird for him to keep showing up at the diner, he didn't have her phone number, and it was better than going to her house and having to explain himself to her parents before she even wanted them to meet. It was his only option, and he would make sure that he got her number if she said yes when he got there and asked.

He was surprised by how nervous he was while he got ready, as if he didn't have a damn good chance of getting his way. It was still so hard to believe that any of it had really happened, and he was afraid that he would get there and that she would laugh in his face and tell him that it had never meant anything to her. He hoped that that wasn't the case, but he couldn't really know until he asked, and he couldn't help being nervous in the mean time.

For the most part, he managed to avoid his family completely, until it was time for him to leave. On the way out the door, his mother called out to him, “Edward, can you hold on for a second?”

Groaning, he hung back and said, “What is it?”

“I've just been wondering,” she said. “You go out all the time. Where is it you keep going to? What are you up to? You're staying out of trouble, I hope.”

Annoyed, he said, “I  _do_ have friends, ya know.”

Pausing, his mother stared at him for a moment before she said, “Edward, are you seeing somebody?”

Eddie was going to deny it and had no intention of telling either of his parents about Sally before he absolutely had to, but he felt himself blushing, and couldn't think of a response. He opened his mouth to say something, _anything_ to deny it, but it was too late, and his mother stopped him. “You are, aren't you? You're seeing some young lady and that's why you keep disappearing and won't tell anyone where you're going. You need to make sure you're careful with her, you know. A young lady's reputation is a delicate thing, and you _especially_ need to be careful taking her out on that motorcycle of yours. I wouldn't let _my_ daughter go out with a boy on one of those...”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, I'll be careful,” Eddie muttered. He really hadn't wanted her to figure out about Sally just yet, and he hoped that she wouldn't say anything to his father. Maybe he should have tried harder to deny it, but she had him figured out so quickly that he hadn't really known what to say, and he walked out the door without another word. It was more important right now that he got to Sally and got things figured out before he worried about what either of his parents thought.

He had to fight against the urge to ride at a particularly unsafe speed on his way to see her, and all he could think about was what she might say, how she might reject him even after everything, how it could all turn out to have meant nothing to her, and how even with all signs pointing to him getting his way, he still might fall short. By the time he pulled into the parking lot, he was so nervous that he almost turned back, but there was no way he could do that now. Instead, he got off his motorcycle, removed his helmet, straightened his hair, and strode into the diner where Sally was seating customers.

She noticed him almost immediately, coming over to him and saying, “Hello, Eddie. You here to eat or just to see me?” The way she smiled at him made his heart nearly stop.

“I wanted to see you,” he said honestly. “I wanted to talk to ya, about...you know, last night.”

She didn't look surprised, but she still raised an eyebrow as she said, “And what did you want to talk about from last night?”

“Well...well, see...” Steeling himself, he looked her in the eyes and said, “I wanted to talk about us goin' steady. Do you wanna be my girl?”

A look of amusement came into her eyes, and for a moment, he was terrified that she was going to say no, that she really was going to laugh him off. He had been playing himself this whole time, hadn't he? Nothing had meant a thing to her, and this was all just a big mistake. Sally was going to laugh him right out of the diner and he wasn't going to be able to show his face there ever again.

“About time you asked,” she said with a laugh. “I was so sure you were going to say something sooner, but even last night, you couldn't take a hint.”

Blinking he said, “Wait...ya mean, you were waiting on me to ask?”

“That's what I said, right?” Now she was really laughing. “I mean, you made it pretty clear what your intentions with me were from the beginning. You're a lot of fun and I always knew I was gonna say yes, if only you'd _ask_.”

All this time, the only person keeping him from Sally was himself. Eddie could have punched himself, but instead, he grinned like an idiot and said, “Well, I'm asking now. Still say yes?”

“ _Yes_ ,” she said, and she couldn't stop laughing. “Are you sticking around or what? I need to get back to work, so if you need a table...”

Nodding, he said, “I think I'll stay a little bit longer.” He couldn't wipe the smile off his face and couldn't stop it from growing whenever she noticed him staring at her while she worked.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Every Sunday, Eddie couldn't get out of being drug to Mass by his parents. He didn't consider himself religious, and he wasn't really sure if they did either, but they had always gone to this church, and they always put on the _appearance_ of being a good Catholic family, and he supposed that, to them, that was all that really mattered. But he always had to go with them, and always had to get up early to make himself look “presentable”, by their standards.

It was never a good process, but it was just a little bit easier to wake up and remember that Sally Juspeczyk was his girlfriend now. That put him in one hell of a good mood and, for once, nobody had to yell at him to get up a third time, and he was ready before his mother had to knock on his door and ask him what was taking him so long. In fact, he didn't even make a single snide remark about how he'd rather stay home, and he and his father didn't argue once in the car.

He didn't stop to think about how suspicious this had to look to his parents, because all he could think about was getting to see Sally soon. Throughout the entire service, he just thought about their kiss and their conversation at the diner, and wondered when he would be able to take her out again and how long she had liked him and how he had managed to be lucky enough to get someone like  _her_ . Bill and Edgar weren't going to believe it when he told them!

When it was time to leave again, he had to fight off a grin because he had lost himself in a daydream about her that he couldn't completely erase from his mind. This was even more suspicious, but still, he didn't really realize it until he was in the car again, and his father finally asked him what had him in such a good mood.

“Whattaya mean?” he asked, growing tense. He still didn't really want to tell them anything about her, after all.

“It's the first time in a while you haven't been in an awful mood about going to church,” his father said bluntly, and Eddie might have been more offended if it weren't completely accurate.

“So? Maybe I'm just in a good mood today.”

“You're just in a good mood over nothin' then?”

“I'll bet something happened with that girl,” his mother muttered, and then had the decency to look guilty, turning back to Eddie with an apologetic look in her eyes, but the damage had already been done. He could feel the dread sinking in as his father processed what has been said.

“There's a girl now, huh?” he finally asked.

“Well, uh...yeah, there...” Once again, he wanted to lie, but he wasn't quick enough, and even if he did, his mother would just call him out on it, and he would be right back where he started. “There sorta is.”

“Sorta? What's that mean?”

“We just start goin' steady yesterday,” he muttered.

“Oh? Well, what's she like?”

“She's...nice.”

“Nice?” His father shook his head. “While that's a very _nice_ description, I think me and your mother might just want to meet her and see for ourselves.”

“I don't know if-”

“You should invite her to dinner,” his father interrupted, and it did not sound much like a suggestion.

“Oh, absolutely!” His mother beamed at the idea, as if it weren't the most terrible thing Eddie could imagine at that moment. “You can find out what she'd like me to cook, if you want.”

“I dunno if Sal would want to...I mean, it's a little soon, right?”

“Too soon for what? Are you ashamed of us or ashamed of her?”

Eddie clenched a fist, biting back all the things he really wanted to say. “I'll ask her,” he said, nearly gritting his teeth. His parents seemed pleased enough with his response, but he knew that there was no way this could go well for him.

~X~

“So?” asked Edgar on Monday with a grin. “What happened at the game? _So_ sorry I couldn't go, by the way.”

Eddie snorted and Bill chuckled. “Yeah, what happened with Sally? Is she with that Nelson guy?”

His good mood had been crushed a little bit by his parents, but not so much that it didn't come back quickly when he thought about the fact that Sally _had_ agreed to go out with him. “Nah,” he said. “She's actually seein' me, it turns out.”

They both took a moment to take in what he had said before really figuring it out, and then they expressed immediate disbelief before bombarding him with questions about what exactly happened. It took him a moment to actually get a hold of the conversation again, and did what he could to recount how the night had gone, exaggerating a bit when it came to their kiss and outright lying about how he asked her. In his version, he asked her that night, but he didn't leave out the part about her saying that she was waiting for him to ask, because he was still blown away by that detail.

“That's how it happened,” he finished. “I knew I shoulda just made a move sooner, but...”

“But you were too scared of that Nelson guy!” said Edgar.

“I don't know about that,” replied Bill. “He seemed pretty scared before he even knew about him!”

Eddie scowled and said, “I was just waitin' for the right moment! Anyway, it doesn't matter now cos she agreed to go steady with me and that's all that really matters.” _Until_ _I have to invite her to dinner with my goddamn_ parents _._

His face must have fallen at that thought, because his friends immediately picked up on it and Bill asked him what was wrong. Eddie sighed and said, “My mom found out about it and ratted me out to my dad and now he says I gotta have her over for dinner.”

“So?”

“So you _know_ how my parents are, an' you know it's way too soon to invite her to somethin' like that anyway. But they aren't gonna back down, and even if askin' her over doesn't scare her off, meeting both of them probably will. I don't really know what to do about it.”

Nodding, Bill said, “Yeah, I get it. That does sound pretty awful, but...seems like it's best if you just tell her about the plans outright and see what she says and go from there. Maybe if you explain things to her and warn her about your parents, she might be understanding. From how she talks about them, I think her parents are pretty overbearing too.”

“I guess...I guess I should probably tell her today, huh?”

“Does she work?”

“I think so,” he replied.

“Want us to go with you?”

Eddie paused when he thought about this. He had gotten so used to keeping them away that it was weird to actually want them there, but it would be easier on him to have some moral support. “Yeah, we can go after school.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

Sally seemed pleased to see the three of them, or at least Eddie hoped that she was and that he wasn't misreading her expression. He was starting to wonder if he maybe hung around the diner too much, if maybe it was getting annoying to her or if she was embarrassed to have her younger boyfriend- she was _older_ than him and she actually _liked_ him!- hanging around all the time. If that was the case, there was no way to tell, and he was in front of his friends anyway, so he wasn't going to start acting insecure now.

Instead, when she came over to say hello to them, he decided to be really bold and kiss her right in front of everyone. It was only their second kiss, he realized, and the first one that he had initiated, but it was no less pleasant than the first and he  _really_ had to make a habit of doing this more often. He honestly felt proud as hell, doing something so bold in front of his two best friends and the rest of the world, and when he pulled back, she had that amused glint in her eyes.

“Better be careful being so forward,” she teased. “Especially when I'm at work, who knows what everyone will think of me?”

“Sorry,” he said with a smirk that indicated just how not sorry he was, “you know I just can't help myself around you.”

“Sure wish you'd had that attitude sooner,” she said with a wink and then sighed. “But, really, if Larry catches me fooling around too much, I know he's gonna get me in trouble for it. He's the worst of my managers and he's working today, and I _swear_ someone snitched on me for being 'too chatty' on the job or something.”

“Alright, alright, we'll get out of your hair,” he said, masking his disappointment. He hadn't even had a chance to ask her about dinner yet, and now wouldn't be a good time, since he needed time to properly explain himself.

“I'll try to get your table if I can,” she replied, “but Donna's gotta seat you. She owes me one for covering for her, so I'll ask if she'll seat you at one of my tables.”

Eddie was grateful for the chance to get to be waited on by Sally, but if he had to be careful about talking to her too much, he still wouldn't be able to ask her about the dinner. He and his friends were seated and, sure enough, it was Sally who came to take their order with a smile.

“What'll it be? The same as always, boys?” When they all agreed, she said, “You guys might be my very first regulars since I started working here. Of course, since you've got ulterior motives...” She gave Eddie a look and he flushed, but at least he didn't have to be ashamed of himself for it. At least she _knew_ now that that had been what he was after all along, and that she appreciated the attention.

She did linger a little bit by their table, always stealing glances over her shoulder to make sure that no one was watching her. “Eddie, we really gotta stop meeting like this. I understand why you wanna come here instead of my house, but maybe you should try calling my some time instead?”

He didn't have her phone number, and he had never given her his. Somehow, throughout all of this, they had missed that very important step, and he started to say as much when she reached for one of their napkins. Taking the pen from her apron, she scrawled out a phone number in neat, pretty handwriting, following it up by signing her name almost like she was giving an autograph. There wasn't really any need to sign her name at all, when Eddie thought about it, but it really was so much like an autograph that, for a moment, he was starstruck, and very glad that she had. When she was a movie star, if she moved on and forgot all about him, he would at least have this bit of memorabilia as his claim to the time when they went steady.

“There,” she said, “so you can call me any time. Maybe once you find out what movies are playing on Saturday night.” She added the last bit so casually that he almost missed out on the fact that she was asking him on a date, but then his friends started to snicker and he wondered how it must look to him, with her being so forward and him being so clueless.

“Sure thing,” he replied, blushing and trying to ignore the two of them. She went off with their orders then, and the laughter faded.

“You still haven't told her about your parents,” said Bill, looking a bit concerned for him. Edgar nodded, looking a bit serious himself.

“She said she couldn't waste time talkin' to us,” he replied. “I didn't want to keep her too long, and I feel like it might take too long to explain.”

“She sure hung around for a while even after saying that...”

“I know, I know, but I didn't know when she was gonna say she had to go back an' I didn't wanna interrupt her!” Was he just making excuses to stall? At this point, Eddie couldn't really be sure, but he _was_ sure that it wasn't something he could wait on. “I got her number, though, see? I'll call her tonight, after she gets off work, and I'll ask her then.”

“And you're not gonna keep putting it off?”

“I'm not putting it off _now_!” he protested, but even so, he doubted that the others believed him. “I just found out yesterday, alright? Putting it off would be not askin' her until the night before or something like that.”

Still, they both looked at him with skepticism, but he ignored them, and when Sally returned a few times throughout the meal, he only made light conversation with her. She was a lot less chatty, probably more wary of her boss catching her, but that was okay; the less time she spent at their table, the less time Eddie had to try to ignore the looks his friends were giving him as they waited to see what he would do.

When it came time for them to head home, he didn't say much to them before leaving, and he spent the rest of the evening dreading the phone call that he knew he would have to make soon.

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I updated again for the first time in forever  
> I'm hoping to get this story completed before the end of the year, so we will see what happens

Finally, after waiting around for far too long, Eddie realized that if he didn't call Sally soon, he risked the chance of her going to sleep before he was able to get in touch with her. As much as he wanted to keep putting this off, he knew he couldn't, and so, he went to the phone, making sure that his parents were out of the room before he dialed her phone number.

While it rang, he felt nervous for a moment, remembering that she also lived with her parents, and he didn't know what he was supposed to say should one of them answer the phone. However, the voice that answered the phone sounded feminine and young, and he thought it was safe to assume that it wasn't her mother.

“Hello?”

“Sally?”

She laughed before replying. “I had a feeling you might call tonight, Eddie. Pretty eager calling me the same day I gave you my phone number. Did you figure out about the movies so fast?”

“Actually, uh, that's not why I called,” he replied with a mumble. “In fact, I think we might want to do a rain check on this Saturday.”

“Oh? Did something come up?” she asked.

“No, it's just that...” He sighed, not knowing what to say. “I had to tell my parents about ya, or they found out, or...the point is, uh...”

“They want to meet me, right?” He couldn't tell from her voice how she felt about it.

“Yeah, they wanted to see if you would come to dinner on Sunday night,” he said. “I know ya probably don't want to an' all, but it wasn't really somethin'....I mean, I didn't _try_ to let them find out so fast.”

“Well, I don't care that they know we're going steady, that was bound to happen. I have to tell _my_ parents about it, but I think they've already got their suspicions about that.” She said this with a casual laugh. “So, you wanna cancel our date on Saturday and replace it with one on Sunday?”  
“I wouldn't exactly call dinner with my parents a date,” he muttered. “If it were up to me, you'd never hafta do anything with them. Hell, if it were up to me, you'd never even _meet_ them.”

“Are you that ashamed of me?” she teased. “Honestly, you go around telling me you didn't want your parents to find out about me and that you don't want them meeting me. You're gonna give a girl the wrong idea!”

“That's not-! No, Sal, I'm not sayin' it's anything to do with you!” he protested quickly and made to say more, but she cut him off with more laughter.

“Oh, come on, Eddie, I thought you knew how to tell a joke. I'm sure that's not what you meant at all. At least, I certainly hope it's not, what with how close we've been getting lately.”

He sighed again, not sure what else he was supposed to say, but she began speaking again soon. “Either way, don't you think it's a little too soon for me to be meeting your parents? No matter how close we've gotten, we still haven't been together for very long.”

Eddie was sure that this was it, that she was going to tell him that she was mad, and maybe that she was even going to refuse to do it. He wondered if she would go so far as to cut things off already, but he didn't know what he was supposed to do to try to stop that from happening. Already, he was losing her, and it wasn't even entirely his fault; he couldn't stop his parents, as hard as he tried and as much as he wanted to. Sure, maybe he could have told a better lie or pretended to be less happy, but in the end, there was only so much he could do, and now Sally hated him and he certainly couldn't fix that on his own.

“Alright, well, if I don't have a choice...” she said, surprising him. “I mean, I really don't want to do this, but if I have to, I have to. But this means you have to meet _my_ parents, and you _still_ haven't taken me on a proper date.”

If he had heard her correctly, then that meant that she was not, in fact, leaving him over this, and actually planned to meet his parents. Sure, he would have to go through the agony of meeting hers, but at the moment, he was so happy that this wasn't the end of things that he didn't really care about that part. “Sure thing,” he said quickly. “Just tell me when it's happening, and I'll meet your parents.”

“Then we'll probably have to postpone our date another weekend, so we can get that over with next week.”

“And _then_ , I promise I'll take ya out, once all of this is resolved. I mean, ya know, if we're even still standin' after this, anyway.” She laughed at that, but for once, he really wasn't joking. “Seriously, Sal, my parents are...I mean, my old man especially, they can be a real pain in the ass. We don't get along, and I know for a fact he's just doin' this to spite me. After meeting them, ya really might not wanna stick around with me anymore.”

“Oh, come on, Eddie,” she said with another laugh. “I'm a big girl, I think I can handle myself. Plus, you've got to deal with _my_ parents, so I should probably be giving you the same warning.”

They talked like that for only a little bit longer before she had to get off the phone, and before he would start to risk having someone walk in on his conversation. He said his goodbyes to her and went to lay down, feeling a mix of emotions. On the one hand, he felt relieved, having finally asked her, but on the other hand, he still had much to dread.

~X~

“So, you actually called and asked her,” said Bill the next day, after Eddie had delivered the news.

“I can't believe you actually had it in ya,” Edgar added, shaking his head.

“Well, I did. I thought she was mad at me, but she said that it was fine. Only now I gotta meet her parents too, and we don't get to go out for real until that's over and done with.” He sighed, hanging his head.  
“Oh, come on, it's not _that_ bad,” Bill said. “It could be better, yeah, but it could be a lot worse. At least she's being understanding, you know?”

“Your parents are bad, but you never know! Hers could be way worse,” said Edgar.

Eddie knew that they were right, and that they were only trying to help cheer him up, but somehow, it really didn't help all that much. No matter what, he couldn't help but dread the coming Sunday.

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for an awkward and painful family dinner lmao

As much as he wished for the week to go by slowly, it didn't; if anything, it felt like it went faster than it normally did, and Eddie was left wondering where all the time had gone when he woke up on Sunday morning, knowing that that night was the fateful dinner with his parents. He sat through Mass, fidgeting as he thought about that night, and on the ride home, his mother kept asking him questions about Sally that he could only answer half-heartedly.

Soon enough, he would have to go pick her up and bring her back to his house, where his mother and, worse, his father would talk to her and try to figure out what on earth she saw in their son. He had an argument with his parents about his motorcycle, as he always did, but this time, it was about the safety regarding Sally riding on it with him.

“I bought her a helmet,” he said. “She's not in any more danger than I am.”

“But it's _very_ dangerous,” his mother replied, “even with a helmet.”

“And I can't imagine her parents are thrilled about it. Not only that, but how goddamn awful it looks. She's young and she may think it's cool now, but imagine the sort of image it gives her!” His father shook his head. “If I had a daughter, I'd sooner die than have her ride on the back of some boy's motorcycle.”

“Some boy, or this boy?” Eddie asked, testing.

“Either or,” his father replied, not seeming bothered in the least to admit this out loud. “If I had a daughter, I wouldn't let her date this young anyway, but I also wouldn't let her date _any_ boy who thought somethin' like _that_ made him look _cooler_.”

“Oh, Michael,” his mother said with a sigh, interrupting him either because she thought it was going too far or simply because she had too much cooking to do to try to break up a fight, should one break out.

“I'm gonna go get ready,” Eddie mumbled, seeing his chance to leave the room before things got worse for him. He debated calling Sally again to warn her one last time, but he didn't think he would be able to get away with it without his parents overhearing.

~X~

He managed to leave without anyone stopping him, at least, and went to pick her up and bring her back to his house. They didn't talk much on the way, though he did try to warn her again, telling her that his father is especially difficult today, but she brushed him off like always.

“It doesn't matter,” she said, “I'm already stuck doing this either way.”

And so they got back to his house without further conversation, and his mother was waiting for them inside the door, beaming with her perfect hostess smile. “Hello, you must be Sally,” she said. “We've heard so much about you! Oh, would you just look at how pretty you are.” She gushed over her, but everything about her actions seemed fake to Eddie, and he hung off to the side, staring at the ground and feeling more uncomfortable than he had in years.

His father was waiting at the dinner table where the two of them sat down, while his mother began to serve them all, and the four of them fell silent fairly quickly. It was just as tense and awkward as Eddie had predicted it would be, and he doubted anything could make it much better. Whenever someone spoke, it was a question directed at Sally, and she answered them well enough, without letting her nerves show, but that didn't do much to ease the tension.

“So, Sally,” his father said, after a long stretch of silence, “what, exactly, do you see in my son? Just outta curiosity.” He laughed like it was the most hilarious thing anyone had said all night, and Eddie cringed.

She faked a laugh- or, at least, he hoped it was faked- and otherwise didn't respond, but his father didn't let that go. “No, I'm bein' serious. I gotta know what a girl like you is doing, goin' so far under your league an' all.”

“I wouldn't say that,” she said, looking about as uncomfortable as Eddie felt.

“Oh, Michael, quit giving her such a hard time,” his mother interrupted. “I'm sure it's embarrassing, talking about things like that.”

“That's true, that's true. I'd be embarrassed if I were in her shoes too.” He laughed especially hard at that. “Ya know? Because of Edward.”

Of course, it was awful to listen to the things his father said. It was uncomfortable enough to have one of his parents insult him that much in front of his own girlfriend, but what made it worse was the fact that it was kind of true. After all, Sally really  _was_ very far out of his league, and he really  _didn't_ know what she saw in him. Fortunately, his mother changed the subject completely, and asked her what she did now that she was out of school.

“Mostly, I work at the diner,” she said. “That's where me and Eddie really met. But, really, what I want is to be a movie star.”

“Well, you're certainly beautiful enough for that.”

“Thank you,” said Sally with a winning smile, and for a moment, Eddie was actually stupid enough to think that this meant things were going better. But then, of course, his father had to speak up again.

“Ya know, you really shouldn't bank on something like that,” he said. “Do you really think it's smart to have such an unrealistic idea? What ya _should_ be doing is focusin' on getting a _good_ husband, not worrying about being a movie star or goin' out with this clown.”

“Hey, don't talk to her like that,” said Eddie, unable to help speaking up. He couldn't just sit there when his father insulted Sally; being insulted was one thing, but letting _her_ be insulted was out of the question.

“Were either of us talkin' to you?” his father asked, sending him a sharp glare. “Learn a little more respect, why doncha?”

Sally gave him a look that told him not to bother fighting this, and so, Eddie looked down and mumbled an apology that he did not mean. They fell silent once again, while they all finished the meal, but when Eddie's mother offered to bring in the dessert, his father laughed and waved her off.

“Don't worry about these kids. I'm sure Edward needs to be gettin' this girl home soon, right?” Grinning, he added, “Besides, wannabe movie starts gotta watch their figure, don't they? She probably doesn't want anything.”

“Actually, I'd be glad to eat whatever you've made,” said Sally, smiling at his mother.

“Don't be silly,” the man said, interrupting before his wife could speak. “You don't gotta be polite to her, she won't get her feelings hurt if you don't want any. You an' Edward are excused.” He gave Eddie a look that said, _Get her the hell out of here_.

Nodding, Eddie stood up and said, “Alright, Sally, I guess it's time for me to get ya home.” Wordlessly, she followed him out of the room and then outside, and wordlessly, she put on her helmet and climbed behind him on his motorcycle. Wordlessly, they rode all the way to her house, and he was terrified of what she would say to him when they got there, if she even spoke to him at all.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, I'm so far removed from my old Watchmen days that I can't even remember why I once thought it was a good idea to write a high school AU....

Sally still hadn't spoken to him by the time they made it to her house, and Eddie was sure that this meant the end of things for them. Still, he knew that he had to say something and not let it end on silence, so he spoke up, quickly apologizing for everything that had happened that night.

“Look, I warned ya, okay?” he said, to start off. “I mean, I knew he would be bad, but, Christ, I didn't know he would be _that_ bad. Look, I'm really sorry. I'm sorry for how awful all that was back there, and I'm sorry I didn't stand up for you more. I should have, and I'm so sorry.”

“It's fine, Eddie,” she said with a wave of her hand, as if brushing off his apology completely. However, there was still a troubled expression on her face that she was trying to cover up, and he wasn't so sure he bought that.

“But it's not fine!” he shot back, not meaning to sound as angry as he did, and when she flinched, he immediately felt bad. “It's just,” he went on in a softer tone, “that I don't think you should think it's fine that I didn't do more when I coulda.”

“Don't worry about it,” she said. “Just...don't worry about it. It's late, and I gotta get inside, but call me later this week, alright?”

“Are you gonna actually answer when I do?”

“Eddie, come _on_ , I told you it's fine. I'm not mad at you!”

“Then how come ya look mad?”

“Well, _now_ I look mad because you're starting to make me mad,” she snapped, glaring at him. “But I _wasn't_ mad at you, so can you please just forget about it?”

“Sally...” He knew that, the more he said, the more problems he was causing for himself, but he couldn't let the night end like this and risk letting everything end like this. He couldn't let her go inside angry at him, or, at least, he couldn't without trying to change things. “I'm _sorry_.”

“For _what_?”

“I'm sorry cos he's right, ya know? I know what he said was...I mean, some of it, not all of it. I don't think your dream is stupid and I don't think ya need to watch your figure at all, but...” He sighed, hanging his head. “What he was right about is me. I don't...you're way to good for me, ya know? You really, really are, and I don't come anywhere close to deservin' you, but...”

“What are you talking about?” she asked, eyes widening.

“You _know_ what I'm talkin' about! He said it all, asking you what ya saw in me an' stuff, and...well...even _I_ know it doesn't make sense. For someone like you to be with someone like me, I mean.” Sighing, Eddie said, “What _could_ you see in me? You're so far out of my league it's almost funny.”

“The only thing I think is funny is how much an idiot you are,” she said, “and even that borders more on being tragic. _Honestly_ , how could you possibly be this stupid?”

Now he'd really made her mad. Perhaps she'd finally realized the mistake she had made in dating him, and finally realized that he didn't even slightly deserve her. “I'm an idiot, yeah,” he agreed. “I've never been smart, so I probably shoulda known sooner not to get involved with someone outta my league, but  _damn_ , I just thought...”

“Eddie, stop being _stupid_ ,” she interrupted. “And stop with this talk about not being good enough for me, okay? You're being so stupid, and I think you must think I'm stupid too. Do you?”

“What? No, I don't, why-”

“If you don't think I'm stupid, then why do you think I'm stupid enough to be with someone who isn't good enough for me?” she asked, hands on her hips. “You sound like such an _idiot_ right now, and you're making me sound like an idiot! You need to understand that I'm with you because I like you, and you need to let go of your ideas about being good enough, because I'm so sick of hearing that! Guys who talk like that...guys who treat me like that...I'm just human, okay?”

“I'm sorry,” he said after a moment. “I didn't know...that would bother ya...”

“Of course it bothers me,” she replied. “Because I like you, and that's that. Yes, that dinner was terrible, and your father was awful to me. I was uncomfortable, but it's fine, and I don't blame you for that. I told you I could take care of myself, and I get the same sort of lecture from my own parents, so I'm used to it. Are we good?”

“Yeah,” said Eddie. “Yeah, we're good. I'm sorry for bein' an idiot.”

Finally, she smiled at him and said, “See? That's a lot better. Besides, my parents are going to make you uncomfortable too, and that's just how it is. It's gonna end up fair for both of us. Speaking of which...how about I go get them now?”

“Huh? Uh...why?”

“So that they can invite you to dinner in person, of course!” He could tell by the devious way her smile has shifted that this was her payback for their little argument, and so, he decided to go along with it without protest and nodded.

Her parents, of course, were not too thrilled about coming out to speak to him, or perhaps they just weren't thrilled about him in general, but either way, he was invited to dinner with them for the next Sunday. He waited until they went inside before he got back on his bike, knowing that they were less than thrilled about that detail.

~X~

“It was awful,” he complained the next morning. “It was the worst night of my life. I mean, she seemed okay in the end, but it was _awful_.”

“Well, your parents are pretty awful,” Edgar replied.

“And now you have to have dinners with _hers_ ,” said Bill. “How do you think you're going to handle that?”

“I don't think I'm even gonna make it out from that alive,” he said, “but it's still kinda better than her meeting mine, I guess. Like, I don't gotta worry about what she thinks of them. If they hate me, I guess that'll be bad, but...still better than some of the things my old man said to her.”

And so, Eddie suffered through another week of anticipation, waiting for the next awkward family dinner.

 


	14. Chapter 14

Sunday came around just as quickly as it had the previous week, and Eddie was no more excited for this than he had been for the previous dinner disaster. His parents hadn't said much to him since the week before, other than his mother telling him that Sally seemed nice, and his father didn't seem to realize that he had done anything wrong. When Eddie told them that he would be having dinner with her parents, all they told him was to not do anything to embarrass himself.

His father took that time to, once again, remind him that Sally was out of his league, and that her parents would, more than likely, not approve of him at all. He even went so far as to suggest trying to win them over by trying to convince Sally to stop going on about her movie star fantasy. Eddie tried his best to ignore him, and succeeded in not slugging the man.

He was told not to ride his motorcycle there, but since he had no other means of transportation, he didn't see any other option. Certainly, he wouldn't ask to be given a ride by his father, and he decided to just leave without saying a word, so that they wouldn't really be able to stop him. He didn't change out of his church clothes when he got home that afternoon, deciding that it would be better to dress up and make a nice impression, and he messed with his hair for a long while before he departed.

Upon arriving, he parked and removed his helmet and messed with his hair some more, despairing over the way the helmet always ruined whatever look he had been going for. However, he couldn't afford to risk her parents watching him pull up in the window and seeing that he didn't have a helmet on. At least for tonight, safety was more important than anything.

He nervously rang the doorbell, then shoved his hands in his pockets, then realized that might give the wrong impression and managed to pull them out before Sally opened the door. She gave him a look, and it took him a moment to realize that she was nervous too. But, of course she was; it was her house this time, and her parents. She was the one who had to worry about them making her look bad this time, and even though he knew he needed to be more secure, after their conversation last week, he supposed she was also worried about him making her look bad too.

Sally showed him to the dining room, where they were served dinner by her mother, and then sat down to an equally silent, tense dinner. However, when her father finally spoke, he didn't ask anything that insulted either of them too much, unlike his own father.

“You really need to be careful on that thing,” he said, titling his head toward the window. Of course, they couldn't actually see Eddie's motorcycle from the dining room window, but he got the picture. “I know kids your age think nothing bad can happen to you, but really. I feel bad enough knowing Sally's out there with you, so don't make me worry anymore than I already do.”

“Yes, sir,” he muttered quickly, and then looked up to see Sally holding back laughter.

“So, Eddie,” his mother went on, “Sally tells me you go to her old high school. When are you graduating?”

“Next year,” he said.

“Only sixteen, then?”

“That's right.”

“I...see,” she said, seeming more confused by that than she should. However, the next thing she said pretty much cleared it up, and reminded Eddie of another insecurity in the relationship. “I just never expected Sally to go for somebody so much _younger_ than her.”

“It's only two years, _mother_ ,” replied Sally with a scoff.

“Better younger than older, I think,” her father said. “Still, I would have preferred someone with a car, rather than _that_.”

Her parents went back and forth about the pros and cons for a bit, and it became more and more clear that they didn't approve of him, but they also didn't hate him nearly as much as they could have. The subject of her being a movie star, thankfully, didn't come up, as he was sure that they would give her a hard time for it and probably ask him if he approved of it or encouraged it. Naturally, he wouldn't lie and would defend her as much as he needed to, but that wouldn't win him any points with them.

He wished that there was a way to at least win their approval, even if he couldn't win his own parents' and even if his parents didn't approve of Sally, but he decided to just consider himself lucky that this dinner wasn't nearly as much of a disaster as the previous week's. And, of course, when it came time for dessert, no one told Sally that she didn't need it, and no one tried to urge Eddie to leave before he had a chance to eat any of it.

They finished their meal, for the most part, like an ordinary family, and then Sally walked Eddie outside. She gave him a half of a smile as they stood outside her door and said, “See, it wasn't that bad.”

“Not as bad as my parents,” he agreed. “But I can tell they don't like me.”

“I don't really care if they or not,” she replied. “This is hardly the first time they haven't liked something about me. And _definitely_ not the first time they haven't liked my boyfriend.”

He flushed despite himself at hearing her say that out loud, and cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, I'm used to people not likin' me, anyway.” He finished his sentence with a nervous laugh, one that she joined him in, though her laugh was more genuine.

“Well, I like you,” she said. “Even if you are an idiot about a lot of things.”

“I'm gettin' better!” he protested.

“I don't know about that. I'll let you know if I see any progress,” she teased. “Really, though, you did very good tonight. We got through both meals, so now we can actually go out together. Just the two of us.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I still owe ya that one. This Saturday night, I promise. We'll go to a movie, okay?” He said it like he was just doing it for her sake, but he was pretty sure she knew just how important it actually was to him.

She gave him a quick, teasing kiss goodnight before she went inside, leaving him alone and in a much better mood than he had been early. Grinning to himself, Eddie put on his helmet and road back home.

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some implied smut in here  
> oh thank god it's finally over i am so fuckin sick of this story

“I managed to get through both weekends,” said Eddie. “I actually did it!”

“I didn't think you had it in ya, but it looks like you proved me wrong,” replied Edgar. “How were her parents?”

“They don't like me, of course, but Sally...Sally said she didn't care what they thought, since she already liked me anyway.” He couldn't keep from grinning like an idiot as he said that. After all he had done to try to win her over, and all the times he had thought that something would get in the way, he had made it past two hurtles that seemed to be the most difficult ones. At this point, it really seemed as though things would turn out well for him.

“I gotta say, I'm both surprised and proud,” said Bill. “You're really changing, you know? And for the better, too. I think Sally motivates you to grow up more.”

“Aw, our dear Eddie is growing up!” his other friend teased.

“Shut up, will ya?”

“Well, anyway, aren't you supposed to be taking her on a real date now? Got anything in mind for that?”

“Actually, Bill, I wanted to ask ya...” Eddie gave him an innocent smile that looked so out of place on him that it was easy to tell how fake it was. “Since you're so proud of me an' all, I thought maybe you might wanna do me a favor.”

Bill, who was not falling for the innocent act, deadpanned, “That depends on the favor.”

“Ya know, you can't really go to a drive-in without a car, right? I mean, maybe you can, I dunno all the rules, but at least, ya know, it _adds_ to the experience, right?”

“You want me to let you borrow my car for a night?”

“Just for the night! Just so me and Sally can go to see a movie!”

It took a lot of pleading, but Eddie was willing to do whatever he had to. After all, he couldn't exactly ask his parents about something like this, and he didn't know anyone else with a car. Perhaps Bill felt sorry for him, after all he had to do for Sally, because, after a fair amount of groveling, he finally said, “You can borrow it for one night, but I'll kill you if anything happens to it.  _Or_ if anything happens  _in_ it.”

Of course, Eddie was willing to agree to those terms.

~X~

Her parents were there to see her out that Saturday, and his father seemed just a little bit more pleased that Eddie had brought a car, rather than a motorcycle, but that didn't stop him from grilling him on whether not he knew how to drive it, and urged him to still be safe, and not to assume that, just because a car was safer, that he and Sally would be invincible.

Once they were finally out of there, Sally asked him, “So, did you get this from Bill?”

“Yeah, he made me promise to be careful. Threatened my life, actually.”

“But is it worth it?” she asked with a teasing smile.

“'Course it is,” he replied, smirking.

Eddie was on cloud nine, being alone in a car with the beautiful woman and knowing that, despite everything, she somehow was still interested in him. He didn't know if he was falling in love with her or not, or if she would ever fall in love with him, but things were going so good for him that even that did not cause him much worry. The two of them settled in to watch their movie together, though he had a very hard time focusing on it after a certain point, when Sally rested her hand on his thigh and did not seem to have any plan of moving it any time soon.

He couldn't deny that this touch was both making him incredibly nervous and incredibly excited, and it became very apparent to him how little experience he really had, where women were concerned. After all, how lame was it that a simple hand on his thigh was having such a strong effect on him? Doing all he could to conceal his excitement, he tried to pay close attention to the screen, only to realize that he couldn't bring his distraction, no matter how hard he tried.

And then Sally squeezed his thigh, and he turned to see that she was staring intently at him, not the screen. His breath caught in his throat as she stared him down, smirking ever so slightly, as if daring him to make a move. He did, leaning forward to capture her lips in a kiss, and she wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him there, and they remained like that for a very, very long time.

Bill's words echoed in his head- “I'll kill you if anything happens to it.  _Or_ if anything happens  _in_ it.”- as it became more and more clear to him that something was definitely going to happen in it, but what were the odds he actually found out about any of this? He really had no way of knowing and, even if he did, Eddie decided right then and there that this would be worth losing his life over.

And so, he stopped thinking about Bill and his warning entirely as he climbed on top of Sally in the backseat.

~X~

That night, neither of them really wanted to go home. It was the happiest Eddie could remember being, and he was sure that Sally felt the same way. This, more than anything else, seemed like the proof he needed that she was just as crazy about him as he was her, and he was content. Things weren't ideal, as far as his life in general went, but as far as Sally went, he couldn't have asked for better and he couldn't have asked for more.

The two of them had had a long start, and for so long, he had worried about her and if he was good enough for her, and if she was too far out of his league for him to reach. Now, the two had them have spent an absolutely amazing night out, and she was no more eager to return home than he was. If it weren't for the fact that he had to return the car to Bill, he might have tried to drag things out, but they both knew that they had to be going now.

“Thank you for a wonderful night,” said Sally with a playful grin.

“I should be the one thankin' you,” he replied. More than that,he wanted to thank her for putting up with him through everything, but he knew that she would just tell him not to be stupid again, if he said that, so he refrained.

She had her dreams that her family discouraged, and he had parents that he couldn't get along with or relate to, and neither of them really knew where their lives were taking them, but he was glad that, at least for now, they were being taken in a similar direction. He was glad that he had won her over, and that it seemed like she was in this for the long haul.

Maybe, he thought, his motorcycle had made him a little cooler after all.

 


End file.
